I think you guys might be laser-focusing on MLG a bit, as though it's specific to halo that competitive jerks suck all the fun out of an FPS. That's sorta been the case since at least Quake. =)
The problem as that so many of the "MLG-hopeful" (I like that term) aren't actually professional players, in that they are not sponsored, and are not bringing home award money. Instead, they're just super-competitive jerks that have lost sight of the fact that they're just playing a video game. Many of them are just as interested in being insulting, rude, and racist to the gamertags they see on their screen as they are playing Halo. Many of them are unable to establish for themselves that being good at Halo isn't the only thing that matters.
Again, this isn't something new to games, let alone FPSs, it just so happens with Halo that there is an identifiable quantity of them that associate themselves with actual professional players, but really are just riding their coattails. If I had a dime every time someone told me that the MLG playlist needed to be modified a certain way without having the authority to make those assessments, I could retire on a private island shaped like a skull and live in the hollowed out dormant Volcano at its center.
The REAL pros that I've met have always been, well, professional. Walshy is a great example of a totally classy guy that can still have fun even though he's an extremely competitive player (LOL @ the kids that made excuses for how I could ever possibly kill Walshy at PAX last week, btw). The guys I've met from Final Boss, Classic, and Carbon were all really cool as well. For the most part, the "actual" pros are cool.
What I'd love to see from MLG as an organization, and I've been saying this since Halo 2, is a stance that encourages (or potentially enforces) sportsmanlike conduct amongst its players. Use the guys that are actually professional as a template for the peanut gallery walking around shouting "rape" at everyone they walk past. Actively establishing protocol for player behavior, even at tournaments, would go a long way toward removing the tarnish that is collecting around their name. Instead of allowing their community step on their name, a philosophy of sportsmanship could improve the MLGs image to the rest of the community and make them the model community that, frankly, they should be.
